GLAM SLAM

David Bowie said “no” when filmmaker Todd Haynes asked to use a handful of his “Ziggy Stardust”-era songs on the soundtrack of “Velvet Goldmine,” set in the early-’70s glam-rock scene and featuring characters more-or-less suggesting Bowie and Iggy Pop.

But there will be plenty of Bowie-esque music in the film. Haynes commissioned L.A. band Grant Lee Buffalo to write and record four new songs in a Ziggy mode. It was the suggestion of the movie’s executive producer--Michael Stipe, via his Single Cell production company. Stipe joined Grant Lee Buffalo (who opened on R.E.M.’s 1995 European tour) and producer Jon Brion on stage at the Largo recently to debut the songs live.

For Iggy-like songs, Haynes convened a supergroup of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley, L.A. bassist Mike Watt, Mudhoney singer Mark Arm and guitarist Ron Asheton, an original member of Pop’s Stooges. Billed as the Wilde Ratz, the ensemble has recorded Pop’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and four new Asheton songs. There’s even talk about a limited tour.

As for Bowie’s refusal, a spokeswoman for the singer says that it was merely a matter of quantity: Haynes--known for such indie projects as “Superstar” (the Karen Carpenter story told with Barbie dolls in stop animation)--asked for at least seven songs, which Bowie felt would be too much to license to one project. Shooting is set to begin March 17, with “Trainspotting” star Ewan McGregor in the Popish role.